In the context of the present invention SPR stands for Surface Plasmon Resonance as it is defined under the heading “SPR detector unit”. See below. Undefined or other variants of SPR have been referred to in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,338,820 and 5,994,150.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,150 (Imation Corp) describes an optical assaying system utilizing a rotatable disc with multiple sensing regions. The disc contains no detection microcavities or microchannel structures in which liquid flow is able to transport various reactants.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,820 (Alexion) describes an apparatus for performing a plurality of assays in a rotatable circular disc containing a plurality of concentrically arranged reaction sites. Certain variants of the disc may be microfluidic in the sense that the disc may have dispersion points for liquid that are connected via channels to the reaction sites. The assays contemplated are illustrated with chemical assays, biochemical reactions, cellular assays, physical assays, biophysical assays etc which then are further illustrated with e.g. surface plasmon resonance without specifying what is meant.
All patent applications and issued patents cited in this specification are incorporated by reference.